To Save
by greenflamesburn
Summary: Jaune always wanted to be a hero, to save. EMIYA, betrayed by his ideals, counter guardian hated heros. Funny how fractured a soul can seem to those looking from the outside in.
1. Chapter 1

Red and orange hues typically made for a beautiful skyline.

In contrast, the desert landscape held a feel of melancholy, weapons strewn about, and a meniscus smog covering the sky.

Jaune walked through the barren landscape, the desolate and lifeless field spanning past the horizon.

There were weapons that looked like they belonged on displays, some that looked like they were close to breaking, many held a presence that felt palpable.

The gears in the smog-ridden sky turned and irritated him with their noise.

Continuing onward, he saw a man - with his back turned to him - standing on a hill, the only hill. He had dark skin but his hair was like snow. He wore a red coat with what appeared to be a black combat suit.

"Hey, mister, who are you?" Jaune said.

BREAK

Archer looked out at Unlimited Blade Works once more, gazing out at the world that he had come to realize was the embodiment of all that he was. He continued to think of his world, and heard a voice call out to him; something that shouldn't be possible in Unlimited Blade Works.

Archer's eyes widened, never before had anyone entered his realm without his volition. He turned, his pace slow, eyes the color of steel widening as he took in the form of the small boy standing before him, his mind going a thousand paces a second.

He blinked twice, noticing that the boy was asking him questions. He had questions of his own for the boy. "Are you a hero, mister?" the small child asked.

At that, the man's heart churned. "Ah…"

BREAK

Jaune woke with a start, where was Archer? maybe it was all just a dream?

As he went through the mindless routine of making his bed then brushing his teeth his mind was filled with thoughts of Archer and what they talked about. Conversations that spanned so long he lost track of the time he spent amongst the field filled with weapons.

They talked of what it meant to be a hero, to save, and to be happy. 'He would have to ask dad, he was a hunter and he knew everything!'

BREAK

The father to 8 otherwise known as Nick Arc was having a good morning; his family was eating with him, his wife was happy. All in all, it was shaping up to be an idyllic day. Then his son came down.

As soon as his son came down he sensed it. He had aura, something which shouldn't be possible. He had shown no signs of awakening it on his own and he had forbidden anyone from unlocking it. The boy hadn't even left his sight for 3 days!

"Hey dad, I had this weird dream where I saw this cool guy and there were swords everywhere and he told me that I shouldn't be a hero because my life will end up like his!" With a great breath, his son continued "Also what does it mean to be a hero? To save? To be happy?"

'What, a man in his dream? These questions, his aura this shouldn't be happening' He shared a look with his wife.

"Jaune..son when did your aura awaken? Did anyone do it for you, I won't be mad just let me and your mom know."

To his frustration, his son was only further confused. "Wait I have aura? Does that mean I can be a hero? A hunter now?" Jaune exclaimed

BREAK

As Jaune's head hit the pillow his head swam with the thoughts of the events of the day. His mom and dad looked were so sad. Jaune was ashamed to admit he was happy, though. 'Finally, I can be a hunter but I don't wanna leave mom and my sisters to go on a trip. It makes them sad and I don't wanna see anyone sad.' He fell asleep to the sounds of gears grinding and the smell of smog.

Once more Jaune found himself looking at the weapons, but this time he didn't stand among them. He stood on a grassy field with a clear blue sky above him. He was curious, what happened to Archer? The field of weapons called out him and his sense of adventure.

"So, this what you are, how fitting.." Archer drawled

Jaune turned around and exclaimed "Archer there you are what is this? What happened? What did you do?"

Archer narrowed his eyes and spoke "I did nothing, what you stand on is you, your very soul embodied, just as Unlimited blade works is all I am," He took a breath before speaking again "On a different note, do have the answers to the questions I asked?"

Jaune scratched his head before answering. "Yeah, my dad told me that I should do what makes me happy! and I wanna be a hero, I know what happened to you might happen to me but that's ok I'll have saved people like you!"

Archer closed his eyes and sighed " So then, I see that you are unable to see past your selfishness; this path will only end in suffering for your family, your friends, and for you."

As Archer spoke weapons materialized in his hands. Jaune looked distinctly nervous as he spoke: "Hey..what are you doing with those swords?" Archer walked forward as he spoke, "I'm going to end you since you can't be reasoned with."

BREAK

As Archer neared the boy he threw Kanshou and Bakuya his two most used swords, the boy was untrained and the swords would attract to each other and behead him before he would be able to act and hopefully this nightmare would end. With the death of the child whose naivety and idealism reminded him so strongly of himself.

As the black and white swords neared Jaune who could only watch as his impending death came, there was the distinct sound of swords clashing. As the swords, which he know knew were Kanshou and Bakuya left Unlimited Blade works and entered his world, his world saved a copy and he was able to see the history and forging process of the blades.

Archer's eyes widened as he saw his swords get deflected by copies 'it's …like my unlimited blade works, but will it be able to handle larger amounts' he thought. "So..the world that embodies you is similar in nature to my own, that should foretell the future that awaits you, will you back down?"

Jaune looked at Archer with a guilty expression "I.. I can't, I don't wanna live a life where I won't be happy!"

Archer merely looked up "your world might be able to stop two of my blades, what of two hundred?" As he spoke numerous swords manifested above him and shot toward Jaune. Jaune looked up with defiance "I don't care if it's two swords or two hundred I won't be stopped by you or by anyone else!" As he proclaimed his declaration his own swords repelled the invading armaments.

'I have to do something I can't just stand here and let him keep attacking me, dad taught me how to hold and use Crocea Mors, if only I had it, I can practically feel it by my side' Jaune thought. He felt a familiar weight in his hands as his family sword appeared into his hand.

He knew what he had to do. Jaune ran forward while the sounds of swords clashing echoed above him and a yell proclaiming his charge.

BREAK

Archer watched as the boy traced a sword unknown to him 'not anymore, Crocea Mors huh' He traced his trusty Kachou and Bakuya and waited until the boy reached him 'i'm going to show him that all that resolve won't let him win' he thought.

As Jaune reached Archer he swung his family's weapon as the man parried it he felt something resonate within him. It was like remembering a long forgotten memory, like a whisper of what used to be. 'Archer is going try to catch me from the back! I can't let him I have to block it!' Jaune thought.

Archer twitched as his sword parried the sword of the brat. The brat was getting his memories and battle experience to augment himself! 'damn this might just devolve into a pointless conflict if he keeps gaining my experience and memories' Archer thought.

Archer jumped back and threw bakuya above Jaune and charged forward with Kanshou. As he locked blades with Jaune his Bakuya came circling back and in the path of Jaune's back. Jaune broke from the clash of their blades and slide stepped letting Bakuya once more reach it's married other. Archer caught the sword in his and released his stance.

"So, you're getting my experiences and memories when our blades meet..do you realize yet that your future will mirror my own?" Archer spoke.

Jaune took a few deep breaths before replying "So what! so what! even if I mirror your life I'll still have helped at least one person and that's enough for me!" Jaune yelled.

Archer looked at the child with apathy "Perhaps beating you into submission is the way to make you learn…"

The sound of sword meeting sword in violent clash was heard for hours.

 **AN: I have to give massive props to TrollerBear and** **dakeyras, without them this chapter would not be nearly as good and polished as it is. They also have good stories check them out to be even more unproductive!**


	2. Chapter 2

Jaune felt his hands and arms vibrate as they parried the sword of his father. For a moment Jaune thought of quitting, this was way harder than he had originally thought. The long days of practicing, fighting against Grimm, and worst of all being away from his family were all taking their toll on him.

"Jaune! Don't just parry. Once you make an opening take it!" The voice of his father cut through the sounds of weapons clashing.

 _'You want me to take an opening, fine.'_ Jaune watched as his father's sword came at him with an overhead strike, the blade moving just fast enough for him to react to it. In his hands were Kanshou and Bakuya, weapons that were Archer's, now his.

He let the blade in his right hand catch his father's and let carried his weight forward, all while sliding his sword on the inside of his father's. Once he was close enough he struck with his other sword. _'Come on connect!'_

To Jaune's sadness the only thing his blade cut was air.

His father stepped out of the path of his sword and used his superior speed and strength to not just push Jaune, back but knock him down.

With a breath, his dad spoke."Let's stop for today. I still need to teach you the basics of aura and it's use."

Jaune moved from lying down to sitting cross-legged. "All right dad, what do I need to know."

The elder Arc also moved to sit cross-legged with his son, sighing at the aches in his joints. "Son there's a lot you need to know about aura and it's usage, I'll keep it simple for today though." Taking a deep breath the hunter continued. "Aura is used for a lot of things, mainly our semblances, defense, and enhancement." At his son's confused look he continued.

"I'll break it down piece by piece. The first thing we do is use aura to power our semblances yes? I know you've felt the drain over time when you create those swords using your semblance." At his son's hesitant nod he kept talking. "The next thing, we all use our aura for is to defend us. This is something we all do unconsciously. Aura surrounds our body and defends it. However, it isn't a perfect defense. It's dependent on a few things. The first being your aura. If you're out of aura your defense goes with it and you'll be vulnerable as a civilian. The next factor is what your aura is defending from. A bullet will take minimal aura, a dust powered explosion, much more. Any questions before I continue?"

Jaune nodded. "Dad… So when aura is used to defend us, can the defense break?"

The father smiled at that question. "Sort of. The shield of aura will strive to defend against anything and everything. However if say you've been fighting and using your semblance without consideration and you take a hit that your shield doesn't have the aura to protect against, it will fail. Any more questions?"

At the shaking of his son's head, he started again. "We also use aura to enhance our bodies temporarily. Say I want to punch a wall, and I do so, say nothing really happens. If I happen to be trained in manipulating aura inside my body I can use it to enhance the muscles in my body. If I punched that wall again enhanced, it would shatter. Any questions?"

Jaune nodded again. "If you can enhance your body, can you enhance your eyes to see farther away? What limits are there, how much aura does it use?"

An approving look made it's way to Nick Arc's face. "Good questions. Enhancing your eyes to do that is possible, but takes a lot of control. To segway to your next questions, control and aura are the limits. If you have higher control of your aura enhancement will be easier, quicker, take less aura, and better. It'll also allow you to enhance extremities, like your eyes. Can I move on?"

At the hesitant nod, he did exactly that.

"The last thing hooks into everything else. In a fight, your aura is the most important thing. It allows you to attack, to defend, to enhance, that's why you must never forget this. In a fight always strive to use as little aura as possible. Don't use your semblance unless you have a direct shot, or in your case making sure that your weapons cost little as possible. Conserve your aura, because if you use too much and a surprise attack happens, you die."

The shocked look his son had made the regret he felt all the more potent.

* * *

Jaune was cleaning up by the river, thinking about the day and what he learned.

 _'Aura… it's something that's so important, but it also attracts the Grimm to us, it's meant to defend us but it makes the Grimm come to us, how ironic. I can't say that I'm not surprised after all, maybe, just maybe Archer had a point.'_

* * *

 **That night**

Entering Unlimited Blade Works was always, an experience. He used to hate the smell of smog and the sound of the gears grinding above him. Now, it was different. He could still see the gears, the smog, but couldn't hear or smell them anymore. Not unless he entered Archer's iteration. He saw the red-clad man standing on a blade of hills, and made his way to him.

* * *

Shirou Emiya watched himself enter their world again. The annoying brat wouldn't stop pestering him. At least he wasn't the same child that was spouting an ideology that he knew nothing about. No, the brat was much more uncertain about himself and the world. That was the only reason he kept talking to the boy, perhaps the boy would grow out of his delusions, he would certainly try. He watched the boy walk up to him.

"Hello, Archer." Unlike the usual childish carefree tone, this time it was different, more introspective.

"Come to bother me some more?" At his words, the boy let out a smile.

"Yeah, I'm here to ask you for help. I know that you don't want to help me be a hero, and that's fine. I need help bettering myself to be good enough to go back home. With my aura awoken I attract Grimm. So I can't be around my family I need to be able to protect them if, no when Grimm come."

The word no was on Archer's tongue before the boy even finished his first sentence, but he held himself back, the pleading tone making him stay his tongue. _'He's starting to realize that being a hero requires sacrifice, sacrifice he isn't ready to bear. I can use this to my advantage.'_

He made sure to keep his tone impassive.

"What you're experiencing is a glimpse into what it's like to be a hero. The fires of self-sacrifice is what forges heroes. This is what I was trying to teach you. Do you now see that Jaune Arc doesn't have it in him to become a hero. I'll help you if you agree to cease your attempt to become a hero, that path only leads to your self-destruction, trust yourself."

The pained look on the boy told him that his words had hit their mark. He watched as the boy gazed out at their world besides him. Looking at the weapons strewn about. He saw a familiar look on the boy, it was one he saw in his reflection so often, after all.

"I can't say that I'll give up on being a hunter, but your points were right. Maybe my story will mirror yours. I can't say I know what will happen. I can't say I really want to be a hero now. I don't know what I want. I still idealize becoming a hero, but I can see the truth of that path. Though I don't think anything else will make me happy, I think I'll become a hunter. I have to, my aura demands it but a hero isn't something I'm still certain on. So will you help me?"

Archer let a wry smile come to his face. His words were already having an effect. Though it was annoying the boy would have to become a hunter. His aura was a curse in disguise as a blessing. Society would forever ostracize the boy if he never became a hunter. A boy from a long line of hunters having aura, but shunning the duty, the honor, the curse of being a hunter would forever mar him. Fate conspired against Jaune Arc it seemed.

Archer exhaled deeply and let the twin married swords manifest into his hands, the familiar weight soothing his raging thoughts.

"I will, but it won't be easy. You seem to be able to gain my memories, experiences, and more importantly, my skills when our swords meet in combat. So trace your weapons."

The cheeky brat had the nerve to use his swords. Though a counterfeit being counterfeit was something so ironic it hurt.

Archer's introspection was broken by the boy charging at him with Kanshou extended. He let the lull of combat take over.

* * *

Jaune felt odd. Each time their weapons clashed the boy felt like he had cold water poured on his head. With that sensation, he found himself, for the lack of a better word remembering things. Like the fact that he was overextending on his overhead strikes, or how his footing wasn't exactly conducive to the way he was striking. He also could feel when his traced swords would break, and break they would with a few more strikes.

With his newfound competence, Jaune let his swords break, only to trace them anew and this time throw them to his sides and traced another pair yet again.

* * *

Archer watched as the boy slowly faded out of the Unlimited Blade Works, an inquisitive look on his face. Archer had felt his world get encroached upon by the boy's, or should he say his younger self. That was what made this an unknown, they both had the same reality marble, because they were one in the same after all.

But it wasn't just the soul that made a reality marble, it required a certain mindset and outlook on life. Their soul was the same and Jaune was in many ways a younger version of himself, aside from the soul issue. It would make sense he grudgingly admitted, that the boy had unlimited blade works. He turned to look at the boy's world, to glean a glimpse and to catalog the differences.

Different. It changed.

The brat's world was usually a green meadow. A hill present at the center with a tree to top it. Weapons were found in seemingly random patterns across it. A clear blue sky looked down at it. Usually.

Now that had changed. The clear blue sky was gone, in its place, dark clouds loomed overhead. The counter guardian was in no way an expert on reality marbles, despite being the only real magic he knew. The only thing he would tell was it came from a change in mentality, likely due to what they discussed, and the memories gained. In that same vein, his mind went back to the encroachment.

His space so to speak was being overridden by the boy's, he could see the boundary where worlds met, had shifted.

The only reason he could guess would be that the boy was taking his memories and making them his, giving an understanding about him. Understanding that let the child's reality marble encroach upon his, ever so slowly. The counter guardian didn't know what to think, and yet again he was lost.

* * *

Nick Arc awoke to find his son already practicing with his semblance, he was creating swords. He had two in his hands but this time, there were swords being created in the air above him. _'An interesting ability, I wonder how far he can create them from himself .'_

The elder Arc was at a bit of a loss. Just yesterday his son was fighting at a level at was the norm for a boy his age. Now though. It was a completely different story.

Jaune wasn't faster or stronger. He was smarter. His son didn't overextend, didn't have issues with footing. No, instead his son fought more like a veteran fighter, minimal movements, feints, and a more creative approach; it was these things that his son seemed to have learned overnight

He was tempted to call foul play but he knew better, there wasn't something that just makes you better overnight. _'Perhaps, something to do with his semblance.' Speaking of semblance the boy seemed to have gotten very creative with it._

At least that's what he got from the pair of swords circling around the clearing to attack him from behind.

Ducking under the swords Nick let them pass over him and back towards his son. He would have been more concerned if he didn't already know that the boy could vanish them. Surprisingly enough he didn't vanish them, no he threw his pair of swords at him. The pair of swords that were spinning changed trajectory seemingly unnaturally.

He had four swords all coming at his torso, if he wasn't a veteran huntsman he would have been worried. He let them come. He enhanced his body and swung Crocea Mors once the swords got in vicinity. Needless to say, they shattered.

 _'What will you do now Jaune. I've seen skill on par with a senior student, and a creative use of semblance, what else?'_

He watched his son bring up both hands with an inquisitive look. Twelve swords manifested above his son, along with those black and white swords he loved so much in his hands. The blades in the air all fired off at him with no small acceleration. Thankfully he was still enhanced. He dodged out of the way when surprise came to his face. The swords were changing their flight path circling around and spinning to attack him.

 _'Keep it up, Jaune show me that you can keep yourself safe.'_

He kept dodging the swords and parrying when it was advantageous. This would trip up a young student to be sure, but an experienced and skilled hunter not so much. He parried the sword and sent it into the one to it's right, both shattering.

 _'I've humored him long enough, time to end it.'_

With the last of the swords taken care of, he rushed at his son, smiling at the quick dodging his son did to evade the strikes of his sword. Still, it wouldn't be enough.

His son left an opening in his defenses, a foolish mistake. He moved to punch the boy in his shoulder when he saw him smile. _'Ah a deliberate opening, let's see what he can do with this.'_

He carried through with his punch and watched as his son moved out of the way and cut into his armpit. Or at least would have, if not for the defense his aura had. _'It was a good move, if not potentially self harming. It would trip up unexperienced, overly aggressive opponents.'_

He caught the blade in his armpit and used his forearm to take the sword of of his son's grip. Jumping back he felt it vanish. _'A good way to ensure your weapons aren't used against you.'_

Quickly the boy created another sword above him and launched it while the older man was jumping. It connected. Though despite connecting it failed to pierce, aura was protective like that. 'Good he isn't afraid to go after an opening with his semblance. If he keeps up at his current pace we should be able to go home next week.'

"Jaune, stop! That's enough for today son, we're gonna work on aura now."

His son let his arms down and let his swords vanish and he sat down on the ground.

Jaune watched his dad sit down. 'He wasn't fazed at all! I tried my best and even with Archer's help I couldn't make him take me seriously, we might never go home.'

"Okay son, you've done a fantastic job, now if you can grasp aura and it's use just as easily, we'll be able to leave in no time!"

The smile on Jaune's face was blinding.


End file.
